Doctor Who: The Impossible Colony
by Black Suit
Summary: The tenth Doctor decided he was better off without a companion. Wishing to take to the stars, the Doctor encounters a curious human colony. Supposedly uninhabitable, somehow the colonist survived. The Doctor realizes that the dragons have saved them.
1. Prologue

**Foreword**

I will update this story as often as I remember. However, if you're impatient and see no updates for a while, please check bit . ly /HUZYy9 which is a permanent link to the PDF of the story. It's auto-updated when I save the document. With that said, I hope you enjoy the story~**  
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**Prologue**

**Allons-y**

A handsome man with a tall, slim frame stood in front of a monitor, brows furrowed as he scanned the contents presented before him. A hand placed upon his short, messily spiked brown hair, gripping it in frustration. The contents on the screen before him displayed the names of different planets—specifically human colonies.

The Doctor continued to scan the rather long list of planets, his dark brown irises dilating slightly as he searched, hoping to find something of interest. "Aha!" Grinning wildly, he pressed his finger against his choice, spinning around once in a fit of ecstasy before going back to his computer. Pressing a few buttons on the keyboard, the screen then displayed more information on the planet.

"Pern… third planet in the Rukbat system… similar land to water ratio to Earth, 0.9 gravity, interesting fauna…" His visage twisted with excitement, "Ooh, very interesting fauna!"

The glint of excitement in his eyes faded as he continued reading about the planet and the surrounding solar system, "No, no, no!" Panic overwhelmed his form, and he closed out of his current window, and opened up a new one—this time examining the Rukbat system. Of particular interest was a planet that had an eccentric orbit that traveled through a nebulous asteroid belt. This planet's orbital path passed dangerously close to Pern's, at what appeared to be once every 250 years.

Normally, this shouldn't be a problem. Similar things happened on other planets, and usually resulted in inhabitants seeing a spectacular meteor showers when the sister planet passed. However this asteroid belt, the Oort Cloud, was different.

The Oort Cloud was composed of objects made up of various ices such as methane, ethane, and hydrogen. This however, was not the problem. Normally such substances were the result of the formation of a sun, and would go on to create individual planets, and weren't harmful. The problem laid with the ovoids incased in ice that also occupied the asteroid belt.

The ovoids contained a complex, intelligent, sentient species similar to the Xylok, a crystalline race. The sister planet, called the Red Star by Earth colonists, would drag the life forms from their home every time it passed through. The journey away from their gaseous home would cause the helium in the life form to be gradually depleted, inflicting severe neurological damage. The creature inside would then be reduced to operating only on base instincts.

If the Doctor's calculations were correct, when the Red Star passed by Pern, the materials brought from the Oort Cloud would then be released into the planet's atmosphere. Upon entering the atmosphere, the life forms inside the ovoids would break through their nearly impenetrable external casing, activating the organism. Due to the life form's genetic makeup, it was plausible—and extremely likely—that it would ruthlessly devour any organic matter that it could find.

It was true that the Doctor was far more clever than most, but he felt as if the team responsible for evaluating suitable planets had made a massive oversight. Sure, they could survive on that planet for approximately 250 years before finding out they had made a grave error, but what then?

Slamming his fist down hard on the console, he cried out, "I thought you were better than this!" The Doctor's face twisted in anger, and he paced about the console room trying to think of a way to dig the humans out of their hole. Even if the life forms could be combated, it was still a planet-wide epidemic. With such little information to go on, the Doctor would have to survey the planet firsthand.

Pulling a lever, flipping a few switches and pressing a few buttons, the Doctor began piloting his time-traveling spaceship, the TARDIS. Making a sort-of grinding noise for a few moments, it then materialized in the desired location. Checking the computer monitor, he ran a few tests to ensure that the planet had a breathable atmosphere, among other things. The Doctor wasn't quite sure _when _he landed.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Seventh Pass**

Disguised in the form of a police telephone box from 1963, the TARDIS materialized upon Pernese soil. Stepping out of the TARDIS, the Doctor furrowed his brows and looked around. Though this wasn't the first colony he had visited, he certainly wasn't prepared for what he just saw.

"…What!" Squinting, he looked about. In the middle of a very large meadow, he was partially surrounded by a thousand-foot tall cliff that opened into a river. Looking to his right, he saw a very, very large dwelling jutting out of the rock face. Castle-like in size and constructed from stone, it resembled a hotel which was propped up on a hundred-foot tall cliff; the rest of the dwelling seemingly inside the surrounding cliff. At the base of the castle were smaller dwellings, similar in size and appearance to houses on Earth.

To his left he saw a smaller version of the massive structure, with the exception that it was built upon the meadow and not on a small cliff. There also seemed to be a road system, originating from each of the major buildings and leading off into the distance, probably a trade route of sorts. Compared to the other colonies he had visited, this particular one seemed remarkably primitive.

While he was contemplating his surroundings, a small female had been watching him curiously. The Doctor hadn't even noticed her standing there; he was too busy looking up. The young girl called out to him, "Mister?" Spinning around, his long brown coat whipped around his form, the Doctor faced the owner of the voice.

"Why hello there~ I'm the Doctor." Smiling, the Doctor looked down at the small brown-haired girl.

She looked up at him, her expression obviously perplexed, "I'm Ellira. How'd you do that?"

Feigning confusion, the Doctor replied, "Do what?"

Ellira's face twisted with disapproval, her hand placing themselves on her hips, "You just appeared here. I'm not stupid."

"Of course you're not. Now, would you mind telling me the year?"

"…year…?" Ellira looked at him, confused.

The Doctor contemplated for a moment, before speaking, "How old are you, Ellira?"

"I'm ten turns old… why do you ask?" The poor girl was even more confused than she was previously.

"What turn is this?"

"…It's turn 1758. You're not making any sense, Doctor…"

The Doctor was astonished. Brows furrowed, he just stared at Ellira for a few moments, mouth agape. Regaining his composure, his visage twisted in confusion, "How are you lot still alive!"

Ellira looked at him, confusion across her visage, "…What?"

"Things. Aren't there things that fall from the sky? You!" He pointed an accusing finger at the girl, "You should be dead! You all should. Be. Dead!"

"You're talking about Thread?"

"Thread… do they fall out of the sky, devouring anything living in their path?"

"Yes…?" Ellira was incredibly confused by this point, and wasn't quite sure what to make of the Doctor.

"How have you lot survived?"

Ellira started to laugh—she finally figured out exactly what the Doctor was, "Y-You're an alien!"

The Doctor wasn't amused by the little girl's bout of laughter; he wanted to know how the human race persisted despite threadfall. His face twisted into playful annoyance, "Yes, yes I'm an alien. Could you please answer my question?"

Trying to control her laughter, Ellira gripped her sides, "Alright, alright." Smiling she continued, "The Weyrs send out a bunch of dragons during threadfall. Usually they burn the thread before they reach the ground, but sometimes a few slip through. Our ground crews take care of that, though."

The Doctor's expression was one of confusion, "W-Wait… did you just say _dragons_?"

His words were enough to send the small girl over the edge, and she fell to the ground rolling in uncontrollable laughter. The Doctor stood there, absolutely baffled. Remembering the list of fauna, there was nothing that indicated the presence of dragons. Reviewing the list in his mind, he did remember something of particular interest—tiny flying reptiles.

Raising an eyebrow at the currently hysterical child he spoke, "Wait… when you said dragons, did you actually mean those small native lizards that are capable of flight?"

Ellira tried to regain composure, but was out of breath from her fit of laughter, "What! There's nothing like that on Pern, sorry, just dragons… and they're huuuuuuge!" Spreading her arms wide, she fell over laughing again.

The Doctor had a rather hard time believing that small flying reptiles somehow evolved into large 'dragons' over the course of ~1700 years. Either he was missing something, or this child was having a jolly old time yanking his chain.

"Alright Ellira, I think it's about time you show me those dragons."

Smiling she shook her head, "I can't. Not now, anyway. I heard they're conducting Search tomorrow though."

The Doctor raised an inquisitive eyebrow, "Search?"

"It's when they send two dragons into Holds to seek out candidates for the Hatching."

"…Hold? Hatching?"

"Umm… I live in Fort Hold." Ellira pointed in the direction of the large castle-like structure, "And um… Hatching is when a bunch of dragon eggs hatch. The dragons form a pair with a human."

"I see…" Twisting his face in confusion, he tried to piece together everything Ellira said, but it still made little sense. It seemed he would have to wait until tomorrow for answers.

Opening the door to the TARDIS, he was about to step inside when Ellira interrupted him, "Where are you going?"

Looking back upon her with furrowed brows, he smiled, "Tomorrow."

"Ummm…"

The Doctor smiled, "It's a time machine. I can use it to go anywhere, and anywhen. I was just going to pop back at about this time tomorrow."

Ellira looked at him with pleading eyes, "You don't want to stay the night?"

"What would your parents think!"

Placing her hands behind her back, she looked at the Doctor sheepishly, "Oh… umm… you know how parents have favorite children?"

"Yes?"

"Well, that's not me. I-I don't think they would care." Ellira hung her head dejectedly, heaving a little sigh.

The Doctor frowned slightly, "Well then, if your parents don't care, could you get away with disappearing for a night?"

The girl nodded vigorously, "I do it all the time."

"Excellent!" He frowned, "Well, not excellent." His internal strife became apparent on his visage. Taking a few moments to regain composure, he continued, "Alright then." Gesturing towards Ellira, she slowly walked up to his strange blue box, peering at it curiously.

"It's… bigger on the inside!"

"I love it when people say that!" Grinning, he stepped inside the TARDIS, motioning for the girl to come along. She happily stepped inside, and began running around the circular console room.

Making his way to the console, he pulled a few levers, causing the TARDIS to make a whirring and grinding noise. Ellira stopped fooling around, and watched the Doctor curiously as he piloted the strange spacecraft. Running around the circular console, the Doctor pulled some more levers and flipped a few switches before they safely landed in the future.

Stepping outside, the Doctor looked about. They had arrived earlier than intended, but that would just give him time to explore some before meeting these so-called dragons. Turning back to look inside the TARDIS, he noticed that Ellira was gone. Stepping back inside he called, out, "Ellira!"

"Hold on, Doctor!"

A slight frown across his face, he leaned against the TARDIS door, waiting for Ellira to finish whatever it was that she was doing. He saw the small girl come out of the wardrobe, a large colorful scarf wrapped around her neck. It used to be his favorite, but he was a different person then. Shooting her an eyebrow, he walked back outside, locking the TARDIS door behind them.

"So, Ellira… When did you say the dragons would be here?"

"Umm… usually they come in the morning."

"Alright then, I suppose we have some time to ki—" The Doctor was cut off by the sound of trumpeting.

"Dragons!" Ellira rushed off in excitement, trying to spot the incoming creatures.

"Ellira wait!"

If there really were dragons, the Doctor had no idea how friendly they would be. If Ellira ran up to one, she could be putting herself in serious danger. Catching up to the small girl, the Doctor placed his hands gently on her shoulders, firmly stopping her.

A large shadow could be seen in the distance, and it looked about 35 feet in length. Immediately, the Doctor's eyes darted upwards, mouth agape. A beautiful blue dragon circled around, seemingly trying to find a good place to land. Off in the distance, a smaller green dragon materialized, gliding over towards where the blue one was.

"Wait… did that just—"

"Uh-huh, dragons have the ability to teleport—just like your blue box!"

Nothing was making sense anymore, which was highly unusual for the Doctor. Typically, he could find the logic in nearly anything. He wanted to ask Ellira how the dragons were able to teleport, but he had a feeling the small girl wouldn't know how to appropriately answer the question.

The two dragons touched down, and their riders dismounted. The man riding the blue dragon began walking towards them. Fort Hold was in the completely opposite direction, leaving the Doctor to ponder why a dragonrider would be more concerned with them.

As the dragonrider closed the distance between them, the Doctor was able to make out his features. Clad in what was most likely traditional riding gear—he much resembled an early pilot from Earth. His torso was covered with a heavy leather coat lined with fur. On his head sat a cap with aviator goggles, his blond hair barely visible. His pants were long, loosely tucked into his leather riding boots. The outfit was certainly optimized for harsh flying conditions.

The dragonrider approached the pair, "Hello, I'm T'kel."

"I'm the Doctor, and this is Ellira."

Smiling the dragonrider extended a hand, and shook the Doctor's, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Doctor." He crouched down slightly to greet the young girl, "You too, Ellira."

"So… T'kel was it? You… aren't you supposed to be in the Hold?"

T'kel laughed, "There's something far more interesting over here, Doctor. My partner L'ran is taking care of candidate selection as we speak."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, "So, what's so interesting about us?"

Chuckling slightly, T'kel explained, "My dragon, Naith, informed me of a strange presence—particularly one not of this world."

"So you suspect we have something to do with that..?"

"I don't just suspect, Doctor, I know. You display mental capabilities far exceeding anyone who has ever existed."

The Doctor frowned slightly, "…and you're telling me that your dragon was able to sense that?"

T'kel nodded, "Yes. In fact it's quite distracting. Our dragons are trying to scan the vicinity for capable candidates—children who are mentally sensitive. They're having an extremely hard time doing so, and it's because of _you_."

The Doctor groaned, "Well then…"

Ellira looked at T'kel, worry across her visage, "What can we do about it?"

T'kel smiled, shooting Ellira a wink, "They're already finding a way around it. I was just curious at who—or what—could cause such a disturbance."

"Well, if it's alright with you I should probably get going…" Furrowing his brows, the Doctor turned on his heel to walk away.

"What's the rush? You're obviously not from here—I could take you back to the Weyr as my guest. Oh, and I'll be bringing you along as well, Ellira."

Ellira spoke up shocked, "M-Me?"

Crouching a little, T'kel smiled, "Yes, you! Now, Doctor, what do you say?"

"Well…" A smile played across his face, "I suppose I _am_ curious about your dragons."

T'kel beamed, "Excellent! We'll take off as soon as we gather up the candidates."

Pointing a thumb back at the TARDIS, he asked with a slight frown, "Is there anywhere I can park this?"

T'kel raised an eyebrow, "… park a blue box?"

"Yeah… Well… it's not a blue box. Well… it is." Brows furrowed, he looked towards T'kel inquisitively, "Is there anywhere I can put it?"

T'kel frowned slightly, "In the Weyr? Yeah, but how do you plan on getting it there?"

The Doctor flashed a smile, "Could you do me a favor, and imagine the exact location I could place this?"

Raising an eyebrow, T'kel complied. The Doctor then placed his hands upon the blonde man's head. The man was surprisingly good with locations in space and time. Once receiving the information he needed, he grinned, "I'll meet you there~"

T'kel raised an eyebrow, "Wait… that box moves?"

"Oh, yes!" A goofy smile plastered on his face, he opened the door to his TARDIS, "Allons-y, Ellira!"

Looking at him, and back at T'kel, Ellira grinned wildly and practically jumped into the TARDIS. The Doctor stuck his head out of the door, waving goodbye before taking them to their destination—Fort Weyr.

Upon stepping outside of his blue box, the Doctor looked around in awe. They were inside T'kel's residence. Though it was rather plain stone cavern, the outside view was spectacular.

"Magnificent!" Moving out of the cave, the Doctor stood on a ledge jutting out from the cliff face. Surrounding them was a grand rock formation—much like Fort Hold. All of the dragonrider's dwellings were cut into the sides, allowing easy access for the dragons. Below him was a great sandy bowl with a large lake off to the side. A portion of the lake was surrounded by a large meadow that contained various herdbeasts, and the other section seemed to be used by the dragons. The Weyr was absolutely massive—large enough to house hundreds of dragons and their riders.

Ellira stood next to the Doctor, mouth agape. Turning towards her, the Doctor smiled, "So I take it you've never been here either?"

The little girl shook her head, "Nope! I've never traveled outside Fort Hold before!"

Chuckling, the Doctor shot her a rather goofy grin, "We'll travel all over Pern! That's a promise!"

Ellira looked up at the Doctor, a smile playing across her visage. A metallic glint caught her attention, and she turned to see a very large and very beautiful bronze-colored dragon.

Similar in composition as the western dragons of legend, there were a few key differences. The shape of its skull had a primarily equine appearance. Its eyes were multifaceted, and protruded from the head to provide a wide range of vision, and they changed colors depending on their mood. Head knobs grew on the back of its skull, instead of the typical spikes seen in ancient paintings. Ridges began on the top of the skull, and ended on the shoulders, picking up again at the base of the dragon's tail. Wing sail edges connected to the body at the shoulder and the base of the tail for flight stability, with the tip of the tail ending in a fork.

The Doctor's gaze shifted towards the bronze dragon. They were absolutely brilliant creatures. About to comment on the creature's beauty, he was then taken off guard—a blue dragon materialized right before their eyes, and seemed to be headed to land in their direction.

"It's T'kel! We need to move—NOW!" Grabbing the small girl, the Doctor thrust her against the stone wall, and took his place beside her, clearing room for the large dragon to land.

The blue dragon, Naith, touched down inside the cavern, quickly folding his wings to allow the company space. T'kel lovingly caressed the dragon's neck as he was lowered, and hopped off. Naith made his way over towards a stone couch that was covered in hay and quilted blankets. Taking his place on the large couch, Naith curled up into a ball, resting his head upon his forepaws.

T'kel smiled at his two guests, "So I take it your strange blue box can go _between_ as well?"

The Doctor raised an inquisitive eyebrow, "What?"

"I said— "

"I know what you said." The Doctor's expression twisted into a slight frown, "When you say _between_, you're referring to the ability to travel between two points in space, correct?"

"Yes. Time and space."

"What!" The Doctor looked at T'kel as if he had an eye growing out of his forehead. Brows furrowed, the Doctor had a difficult time forming words. Opening his mouth a few times, nothing came out. Finally, his mouth closed and his eyes narrowed a bit in skepticism. "So you're saying… your Naith has the ability to travel to the past and the present…?"

T'kel nodded, and the Doctor just stared at him, baffled.

"Alright, then! I've seen stranger things in my time!" The Doctor tried to shrug it off, but something wasn't right. Licking his lips slightly, he tried to work out the puzzle in his head. "So… T'kel… you ride dragons… could you give me a proper explanation on how these creatures came to be, and how in the world they developed such abilities!"

T'kel shook his head, "I'm sorry, Doctor. I really haven't a clue. Any explanations have long since been lost."

Heaving a dejected sigh, the Doctor replied, "Ahh..."

T'kel smiled, "I know what would make you feel better—something to eat!"

The Doctor laughed, "No, it's okay I'm—" He was then cut off by Ellira's puppy eyes. He frowned at her for a moment, and then smiled, "Alright then, allons-y!"

"Al-onz-zee?" Ellira looked at the Doctor, baffled.

"It means let's go." He chuckled slightly, and Ellira shot him a rather confused smile.

T'kel made his way towards the entrance of the cave, and motioned the pair over. The Doctor looked over towards the sandy bowl, and wondered exactly how they'd be getting food that way… the exit was clearly on the other side, towards the interior of the weyr.

The blue rider could see the confusion on the Doctor's face, and grinning, he waved over a dragonrider who seemed to be riding the air currents. The bronze dragon—the one they had been gawking at earlier—flew over towards them.

"N'lor!"

The young boy smiled at the blue rider, "T'kel! Who're your friends?"

T'kel chuckled, "That's the Doctor, and one of the candidates, Ellira."

N'lor grinned roguishly, "Is the Doctor your weyrmate?"

Face flushed a bright red, T'kel vehemently denied the claim, "N-No! Of course not! The Doctor is just a friend…"

The Doctor raised a slight eyebrow—he was suddenly reminded of Captain Jack Harkness…

Ellira looked up at the Doctor, and tugged him down so that she could whisper in his ear, "What's a weyrmate?"

The Doctor smiled cheekily, "I'll tell you when you're older."

Ellira wasn't pleased with that answer, and gave him a huff and a frown, placing her hands upon her hips.

N'lor gestured towards the group to mount his dragon, Llieraneth. T'kel was the first to hop on the dragon's back, taking his place behind N'lor. The Doctor picked up Ellira, and placed her gently behind T'kel, and took his place after her, making sure she was securely mounted upon Llieraneth's neck.

N'lor seemed to give the dragon some sort of command, and Llieraneth descended towards the sandy bowl, riding the air currents down.

The Doctor noted that N'lor's dragon was remarkably larger than T'kel's. The bronze dragon was about 55 feet in length (from nose to tail), as opposed to the blue's 35 feet. He assumed that the colors of the dragons had some sort of meaning—like a social hierarchy.

Llieraneth touched down, lowering his neck to allow the others to dismount with ease. Being a much taller dragon, he had to squat close to the ground so the passengers received no injuries while trying to get off.

Being the first to dismount, T'kel reached out to assist Ellira and the Doctor. Once they were firmly planted on the ground, T'kel waved to N'lor, "Thanks for the lift!"

N'lor chuckled, "It was a nice change of pace!" Looking down towards Ellira, he shot a smile towards the young girl, "I wager you'll impress that queen egg!"

Ellira's eyes lit up, "Do you really think so!"

With a knowing smile, N'lor and Llieraneth took to the skies, riding the thermals across the Weyr.

The Doctor looked inquisitively towards T'kel, "Queen?"

"A queen—a gold-colored dragon—is the most important dragon in a Weyr. Queen riders usually go on to become Weyrwoman. Weyrwoman are the domestic heads of a Weyr—the female counterpart to the male head, the Weyrleader."

The Doctor nodded, with a slight contemplative frown, "Ahh… I see."

T'kel laughed, "Enough politics—let's eat!" The blue rider headed off in the direction of the lower caverns, which held the kitchen, dining area and other common rooms. These caverns were placed under the rider's weyrs, and built into the side of the cliff-face, with some of the caverns running underground.

Entering the lower caverns, they made their way towards the dining hall. Before them was a rather imposing flight of stairs. The Doctor made a rather cross face, "The kitchen… is up _that!_"

T'kel laughed, "It's good exercise."

Ellira looked over at the Doctor with sad eyes.

"Alright, alright…" With a smile, the Doctor picked Ellira up, and placed her over his shoulders. Looking up the flight of stairs, he gulped slightly. T'kel shot the Doctor a rather amused expression, and began his ascent up the staircase.

Halfway up the stairs, the Doctor had to stop and catch his breath. "So…T'kel… exactly how many steps are there!"

The dragonrider chuckled, "You don't want to know."

The Doctor let out a slight groan, causing Ellira to giggle, "I'm so glad you're carrying me Doctor~"

"I'm sure you are…"

After what seemed like an eternity, the trio finally made it to the dining hall. It was an impressively sized cavern; above them was an elaborate vaulted ceiling. Hearths ran along the outside kitchen wall, and they stood in the middle of the dining hall—with enough room to feed 1600 or so individuals. Over towards the kitchen, copper utensils ranging from immense soup cauldrons to tiny saucepans hung from the ceiling in rows, all of them pristine.

"This is a rather impressive kitchen." The Doctor looked towards T'kel, smiling.

T'kel beamed, "It's the largest of all of the Weyrs! It's also the fanciest." Giving the Doctor a wink, he made his way over towards the kitchens to get the group something to eat.

The dragonrider waved down one of the drudges who had been attending to cleaning the kitchen. The young, raggedy female turned to look at the handsome blonde dragonrider, smiling, "T'kel! It's been a while."

"Indeed it has, Raena!"

The female's face flushed a bright red, "And you brought friends?"

"This is the Doctor, he's a very strange man. Beside him is Ellira, one of the candidates I brought back."

"I see, I see. So, what are you having?"

"Two cups of Klah please, and your best juice for the little one. As for food? Hmmm, what's on the pot?"

Raena smiled, "Roasted wherry~"

T'kel grinned, "I'll have three portions of that then!"

"Of course!" The female ran to the back caverns, moments later returning with three plates of sliced wherry meat, along with their beverages.

"Thanks so much, Raena!" The female bowed towards the rider, and returned to her duties.

Taking a seat at one of the long tables, the group sans the Doctor began feasting on their meal. Picking up his drink, the Doctor sniffed it. Its scent was similar to chocolate and cinnamon. In his opinion, it was a very odd choice of a beverage meant to accompany a meal. Upon his plate was this 'wherry' meat, along with some sort of vegetables. Deciding to be brave, he took a bite of the mystery meat.

T'kel watched him intently as he tried the food, "So, what do you think?"

"It tastes like turkey."

"Is that a good thing?" The dragonrider shot him an eyebrow.

"It's very delicious, thank you." The Doctor grinned, meat stuffed in his mouth as he spoke.

Ellira was too busy shoving the delicious, tender meat down her esophagus to add to the conversation. The hold she lived in never provided her with such delicious food.

After trying the beverage, the Doctor determined it was some strange combination of spice, coffee and hot chocolate. It was without a doubt delicious.

Once the Doctor finished his meal, he looked over towards T'kel, "So you brought Ellira here for a dragon hatching, correct?" T'kel nodded, and the Doctor continued, "When is that taking place?"

"Tomorrow. And that reminds me—we need to get Ellira down to the Hatching Ground to touch the eggs."

Ellira smiled, "I would like that!"

T'kel smiled, and took his soiled plate to the kitchen. The Doctor and Ellira took theirs as well, handing the dishes to Raena who received them with a smile.

Bending down to Ellira's level, T'kel beamed, "Are you ready to see some eggs?"

Ellira smiled, "Yup!"

Chuckling, T'kel gently ruffled Ellira's brown locks, then making his way towards the terrifying staircase.

After a short journey across the Weyr Bowl, they arrived at the Hatching Ground. The sunlight shone through the high openings to the Weyr Bowl outside, causing the mottled eggshells to glisten. The cavern was massive, filled with hot sand which warmed the eggs. Shape, color and size of the eggs were uniform, aside from the large golden queen egg. This special egg was separate from the rest of the clutch, propped up on a mound and protected by its broody golden mother.

The trio treaded carefully across the sands—mindful to not disturb the sleeping queen dragon. The Doctor spoke softly in awe, "These eggs are so beautiful…" Walking up to one of them, he gently placed his hand on the smooth shell, caressing it lightly.

"Doctor! You really shouldn't touch those…"

"O-Oh, I'm sorry."

T'kel gently took Ellira's hand, and placed it upon the shell the Doctor touched, "The candidates are supposed to touch them. It's said to increase one's chance at impressing."

Nodding, the Doctor kept a safe distance from the eggs, but continued watching them curiously.

Circling the Hatching Grounds, Ellira gently placed her hand upon each of the eggs. The young girl was trembling nervously, and T'kel looked upon her smiling, "Don't worry. Impression is very nerve-wracking—but it's well worth the stress."

Ellira smiled weakly, her gaze then focusing upon the great golden egg. T'kel looked in the same direction with furrowed brows. It was the first time he had been responsible for candidates, and wasn't quite sure how to properly approach a queen dragon and her egg. Waving Ellira on, T'kel slowly and quietly approached the large egg. It appeared she was fast asleep, and T'kel gestured for Ellira to quickly touch the egg.

Nervously, Ellira approached the beautiful egg, eyes widened in awe. Her hand gently and lovingly caressed the shell, a smile playing across her visage. The Doctor stood far back watching as his young friend handled the egg, keeping an eye out for any sign of movement from the queen dragon. Reptilian mothers were often very protective—often violently so—of their clutch.

Once finished, Ellira quickly backed away from the egg to not upset the mother if she were to wake up. T'kel nodded towards Ellira and the Doctor, "Let's go."

Upon reaching the Weyr Bowl, Ellira cried out, "That was _amazing_!" The two men looked upon the small girl, smiling. It was refreshing to see a pleased child. After she finished jumping up and down excitedly, Ellira turned towards the two men, her demeanor changed, "I'm really tired…"

T'kel laughed, "It's not even close to nighttime!"

The Doctor spoke, "It was late afternoon when I picked up Ellira, I'm sure she's exhausted."

T'kel nodded in understanding, "Well, I can take you to the Candidate Barracks if you'd like. Just a warning though—the children might be loud."

Ellira smiled weakly, "It's okay… I think I could sleep through anything right now."

The trio made their way across the hot sands, eventually reaching their destination. Handing Ellira over to the rider in charge of taking care of the candidates, the Doctor and T'kel then searched for N'lor to receive a lift back up to the blue rider's weyr.

T'kel spoke telepathically to his dragon, _Naith, are you awake?_

_Yes._

T'kel smiled, _Could you get Llieraneth's attention? We're coming back to the weyr._

_I'll let him know._

Moments later, the sunlight refracted gloriously off of Llieraneth's beautiful bronze skin, and using thermals, he made his descent. Touching down, Llieraneth lowered his head and squatted, allowing the two men to easily mount.

N'lor smiled, "Ahh, where's your tiny friend?"

The Doctor smiled, "She's with the other candidates."

"Gotcha. Did she get a chance to touch the queen egg?"

T'kel grinned, "Of course she did!"

Llieraneth trumpeted in joy, and his rider shared the sentiment, "Excellent!"

Once they climbed on the bronze dragon's neck, Llieraneth lifted them into the sky, gliding gracefully over towards T'kel's weyr.

N'lor smiled, gently patting the bronze dragon's neck, "So, Doctor. Where are you from?"

He chuckled, "Somewhere far, far away."

T'kel chimed in, "He's not from Pern."

"You're kidding!"

Llieraneth spoke to N'lor, _T'kel is right. He is not human._

N'lor's eyes widened, "Llieraneth informs me that you're not human, Doctor…"

Heaving a sigh, the Doctor explained, "I'm a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey… it's quite a ways from the Rukbat system."

N'lor laughed, "I have no idea what that means, but I'll take your word for it."

Llieraneth landed upon the ledge of T'kel's weyr, and the pair dismounted. Naith crooned a friendly greeting, and Llieraneth returned the sentiment.

N'lor smiled, "I'll see you two at the hatching! I'm crossing my fingers for Ellira—she's by far my favorite queen candidate." With a wink, the bronze rider and his dragon took off.

The Doctor turned towards T'kel, "At what time about would you say the hatching is?"

T'kel shook his head, "Hatchings usually happen in the afternoon, but it's hard to say. Really it's whenever the eggs decide they're ready."

A contemplative frown played across the Doctor's face.

"You plan on timing it?"

"Ahh… well… I suppose, yes." The Doctor smiled.

"It doesn't make you sick?"

Eyebrow raised, the Doctor looked upon T'kel curiously and spoke, "Traveling in time makes you sick?"

T'kel nodded.

"Well… that's odd."

T'kel shrugged, "Dragonriders avoid traveling in time for that reason. The dragons don't seem to be bothered by it, but it makes us feel ill. Also, the time in _between_ increases the further in time we travel." He chuckled, "It's very easy to die that way."

The Doctor's brows furrowed. He wasn't quite sure how traveling _between_ was deadly.

Noticing that the Doctor was confused T'kel clarified, "_Between_ is cold nothingness. No air. Nothing."

Frowning, the Doctor muttered to himself, "Hmmm… I wonder if a space suit would solve that…"

"…what?"

"Nothing, don't worry about it." With a grin, the Doctor made his way to the TARDIS.

"Doctor?"

"Yes?"

"Are you sure you don't need to rest?"

The Doctor laughed at the dragonrider's concern, "Don't worry about me~ I'll see you bright and early tomorrow!" Grinning he opened the door to the TARDIS and stepped inside.

T'kel caught a glance at it, and his eyes widened in disbelief, "I-It's bigger on the inside…!"

With a cheesy grin plastered on his face, the Doctor waved goodbye to T'kel, and closed the door. Making his way to the console, the Doctor proceeded to flip a few switches, pull a few levers, causing the time machine to make the familiar grinding and whirring noise.

Outside, the dragonrider watched as the mysterious blue box dematerialized.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**The Hatching**

T'kel awoke to a familiar grinding and whirring noise. Jumping out of his cot, he approached the location the strange man's blue box had been located previously. Before his eyes, the TARDIS materialized, and out stepped his strange friend.

"Morning!" The Doctor had a silly grin plastered across his face, and he looked around the blue rider's weyr. Naith was resting on his stone couch like before, and the only real difference was that T'kel was dressed in sleepwear.

"Looks like you wasted no time getting here."

"I couldn't be late for Ellira's impression! That would make me a terrible person!"

T'kel chuckled, "Well, I should get ready myself."

The Doctor decided to let T'kel proceed with his morning duties, and moseyed over towards the ledge. Looking over towards the Weyr Bowl, the Doctor thought, _I wonder where N'lor is…_

Inside his mind, he heard a consciousness reply, _We're nearby. Do you need a lift?_

The Doctor's eyes widened—something just communicated telepathically with him. Presumably it was Llieraneth, since its voice and manner of speaking were completely different than N'lor's. Brows furrowed in confusion, the Doctor finally replied, _Please. Is this Llieraneth?_

_Yes._

Moments later, the large bronze dragon landed before him, lowering himself so that the Doctor could mount. Climbing upon Llieraneth's back, N'lor spoke, "How did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Speak to Llieraneth."

"Uhh… I don't know. Is that abnormal?"

N'lor shook his head, "Only a dragon's rider can communicate to them."

The Doctor's brows furrowed, "Hmm."

Disregarding the strangeness of the Doctor, N'lor smiled, "So, were you planning to get breakfast?"

Shaking his head, the Doctor replied, "No, no. I was just going to check up on Ellira, and perhaps wander around some. Would the Weyr have any sort of old records?"

"Most of the old records are worn, but there is a room that contains skins. I could take you there after we see Ellira if you'd like."

Llieraneth made his descent towards the Weyr Bowl, landing before the barracks. The Doctor dismounted, and made his way over towards the entrance. N'lor got off after, and hurried over to speak with the green rider, L'ran.

"Hey, L'ran!"

The tall, brown haired rider greeted the boy with a smile, "Hello!"

"The Doctor and I are here to check up on Ellira, is she doing alright?"

L'ran nodded, "Ellira was exhausted when she came in, but since this morning she's been playing around with the boys."

The Doctor beamed, "Could we see her?"

L'ran frowned slightly, "They're actually getting ready for the hatching… I'm sorry."

Nodding the Doctor smiled, "It's alright. I'm just glad she's doing well."

The pair waved goodbye to the green rider, and made their way over towards the lower caverns. N'lor patted Llieraneth on the side of his neck before letting his dragon know that he'd be busy. Taking off with a powerful push of his hind-legs, the bronze dragon rode the thermals to the top of the Weyr.

Trekking across the hot sands, they arrived at the lower caverns. Thankfully, they took a path that was separate from the intimidating staircase that lead to the dining hall.

"Beware of tunnel snakes."

Raising an eyebrow, the Doctor carefully followed N'lor, keeping an eye on the ground in the event a snake passed them by.

They continued into the depths of the tunnels, and it became apparent very quickly that this portion had been unused for centuries.

Taking a few items from his pocket, N'lor opened his palm to expose a very bright light source. The Doctor looked over at the boy's hand curiously, "What is that!"

N'lor smiled, "They're glows."

"May I take a look?"

Nodding, N'lor handed one of the orbs over to the Doctor. Taking it in his hand, the Doctor examined it. It was some sort of luminous fungus. They were exceedingly bright for their small size.

"Doctor!" N'lor shouted out terrified.

"What is i—" The Doctor cut himself off when his gaze focused upon a rather large creature, about four feet long, in front of them. The creature had crawled out of a crack in the stone wall, recognizing their presence. It then bared its fangs, and made its way down, its six legs moving swiftly while keeping its body low to the ground.

"W-What is that!" Upon the Doctor's visage was a sort of confused terror.

"T-That's a tunnel snake." Reaching in his pocket, N'lor realized regretfully that he had forgotten his hunting knife, "R-Run!"

"How is that a snake! It has _legs!_" The Doctor stared at the creature incredulously for a few moments before running after N'lor, "Why would you tell me to look out for snakes! That's not a snake!"

"It is _too _a snake! _Shards_!" N'lor cursed under his breath, running as fast as he could, while hoping to tire out the tunnel snake before it caught up to them and ripped their flesh apart.

Tripping over a small rock, N'lor planted himself face-first into the dirt. Hearing a thud, the Doctor turned back and saw his friend before his feet, the tunnel snake quickly closing the distance between them. Taking out his sonic screwdriver, he pointed it towards the creature and activated it. Making a loud, unfamiliar buzzing noise, the tunnel snake turned around frightened, running back into the crevice from whence it came.

Looking up, N'lor noticed the Doctor was holding a rather curious device. Picking himself off the ground, he dusted the dirt from his riding gear, heaving a sigh of relief, "Thanks…"

The Doctor smiled, "No problem~"

"Mind if I ask what _that_ is?"

"Oh? This?" He held up his sonic screwdriver proudly, "It's my sonic screwdriver!"

"That's a strange screwdriver."

The pair laughed, but ceased when a strange humming noise reverberated throughout the cavern.

_It's starting._ Llieraneth informed his rider as well as the Doctor that the hatching was about to commence.

"_Shards!_ We'd better hurry!" Taking the lead, N'lor ran out of the lower caverns, and made his way towards the Hatching Grounds, the Doctor in tow.

In the passage, drudges were frantically refilling the glowbaskets with fresh glows, the movement of the glowing fungus causing weird shadows to dance about the walls. Finally, the pair made it to the end of the tunnel. The bright sunlight shone through an opening in the top of the cavern, hitting the Hatching Grounds and causing a harsh glare. In the distance, the Doctor could see the arena filling up with people.

Around the eggs, there was a loose semicircle of shoeless boys clad in white Candidate's robes. The queen coiled on the egg mound, protecting the golden egg, hissing and snarling, her faceted eyes awhirl with a red light. Standing a fair distance from the queen and her precious golden egg, there were a handful of girls clad in the same thin white cloth, their eyes on the large golden egg. The Doctor was able to pick out Ellira in the crowd—she was by far the youngest, and shortest of the group.

N'lor motioned for the Doctor to follow him up the stands. Towards the front, the Doctor saw T'kel, sitting patiently on his stone seat, awaiting the first egg to crack. The young bronze rider made his way towards their friend, pushing himself through crowds of people trying to take their place before the hatching began. Seating himself next to T'kel, the Doctor greeted his friend, "It looks like we just made it on time!"

"The hatching caught us all off guard—usually it starts at around noon." T'kel smiled at the Doctor briefly before focusing his gaze upon the Hatching Ground.

The children clad in white started to become agitated. The hot sands burned the soles of their feet, and they began shifting foot to foot.

Before them, the clutch of eggs started rocking back and forth, and upon their ledge, the bronze dragons watched, filling the chamber with a low hum. The reverberating hum was building slowly in power, like the sound of an oncoming squall.

With a loud plop, a mottled egg cracked suddenly and burst open, and a young bronze dragonet fell to the hot sand. The tiny creature cried, fumbling about, and the audience sighed in relief.

T'kel looked over towards the Doctor, smiling, "It's a good sign that the first dragon to hatch is bronze."

The Doctor's face twisted with curiosity, "I never asked—I take it bronze dragons are the strongest of the male dragons?"

T'kel nodded, "Yes. The hierarchy is queen, bronze, brown, blue, and green, in that order. Queens and greens are both female, the rest male."

"I see."

"Of course, each of the dragons have their purpose. For example, green dragons are the best at fighting thread. They're far more agile than any of the other colors, but they lack stamina, and need to be rotated out in shifts."

The bronze dragonet's glistening wet wings unfurled and began drying in the hot air. A few of the women in the stands shrieked with joy. Its multi-faceted eyes whirled, the bluish hue changing to green, and the dragonet stumbled decisively towards a boy.

"He says his name is Aroith!" The tall young boy cried triumphantly, and the crowd cheered. Approving the match, the bronze dragons' hum intensified. The new dragonrider led the staggering dragonet towards the ground-level exit where brown and green riders waited to escort the new weyrlings to their barracks.

Suddenly, several eggs broke open at once. Eyes that were previously on Aroith and his rider focused their gaze upon the Hatching Grounds. Crooning piteously, the dragonets clumsily made their way across the sand, searching the faces of the Candidates. Some seemed indecisive, while others knew exactly which child was for them.

A scream reached the Doctor's ears, and instantly his eyes focused upon the source of the noise. Upon the ground laid a mauled boy, his blood staining the sand beneath him. Immediately, the Doctor stood up from his seat and rushed down towards the piteous heap of a child. Both T'kel and N'lor called out for him, but he ignored their pleas.

Pained shrieks were replaced by pitiful sobs. Reaching the boy, the Doctor practically dove in the sand, taking his place by the child's side. Taking out his sonic screwdriver, he ran it over the boy's body to get a proper diagnosis. Having been mauled in the face and across his chest cavity, the gaping wounds poured blood everywhere. Thankfully, no vital organs were damaged in the process.

Furrowing his brows, the Doctor spoke, "I'm the Doctor; it'll be okay."

The boy nodded, choking on his own blood, "I-I'm Sjaranrir…"

"Okay, Sjaranrir, you'll have to tolerate the pain for a while longer, alright?"

Taking a needle and thread from his coat, the Doctor began stitching the boy's chest. A tiny green dragonet approached the pair, and Sjaranrir reached out weakly, and gently caressed the creature on its head.

"S-She says her name is Myth… s-she's so beautiful." The boy tried his hardest to speak, but his form still trembled in agony.

Raising a slight eyebrow, the Doctor looked over at the mewling dragonet, and smiled, _I'll do my best to hurry. I'm sure you're starving._

The green dragonet's eyes whirled a bright blue, _Thank you. I'm so hungry._

Closing the wound enough to slow the rate of blood loss significantly, the Doctor figured it was about time to help the boy and his newly impressed dragon leave. "Alright, Sjara—"

"I-It's S'ran now."

"Oh. Well then, S'ran, let's get you two out of here so little Myth can get something to eat.

_I'm hungry._

"Yes, I know you're hungry that's why we're—"

_I'm so hungry._

The Doctor heaved a defeated sigh. Bending down, he picked up the boy in his arms, and began walking for the exit, green Myth beside him. Looking down, the Doctor noticed that the child's blood was getting all over his nicely pressed suit and coat, and made a rather displeasured face, accompanied by a groan.

Finally making it to the Weyr Bowl after what seemed like an eternity (and a ruined suit later), S'ran was then taken from him by a kind brown rider. The other hatchlings were already being fed by their new companions, with some help from the senior riders.

Looking at the brown rider with a saddened expression, the Doctor spoke, "A dragonet mauled him during hatching…"

The rider nodded, "It's common. Unfortunate, but common." Noticing that his answer wasn't any consolation to the Doctor, he added, "The newly hatched dragonets are clumsy. S'ran was standing in the wrong place at the wrong time, that's all."

"I see. Well, take care of him please. His face still needs suturing."

The brown rider nodded, and the Doctor made his way back towards the Hatching Grounds. He would be mad at himself if he missed Ellira impressing.

S'ran weakly waved at the Doctor, "T-Thank you!"

Turning around, the Doctor smiled, "You're welcome! Take care of Myth… and take care of yourself!"

With a quickened pace, the Doctor returned to the Hatching Grounds in good time. Looking around, it appeared that more than half of the eggs had already hatched and impressed, though the golden egg still remained.

Taking his place by T'kel and N'lor, he watched as the children below paired off with their life mates. The humming of the bronze dragons—which the Doctor had managed to tune out previously—grew in intensity. The golden egg clutched in the claws of its mother began to shake violently. The large brooding dragon glared at the nearby female Candidates, her multi-faceted orbs whirling in annoyance.

A large crack appeared in the side of the egg, with smaller cracks splintered from its origin. The pointed nose of the dragonet burst through, and seconds later the tiny creature fell to the hot sands with a plop. Looking around, she stumbled towards the Candidates. Eyes awhirl with a bluish green hue, she unfurled her wings allowing her hide and sails to begin drying.

"She's magnificent…" The Doctor's eyes were focused upon the tiny dragonet's form; beside him N'lor stood up, crossing his fingers.

The golden dragonet wandered over towards the oldest girl there—she appeared roughly 20 turns old. The girl's visage was filled with joy, only to be replaced by disappointment moments later when the dragonet walked right past her. Looking each female over, the dragonet's eyes whirled a bright blue.

N'lor began clenching his fists in anticipation. T'kel was also on the edge of his seat, as were the rest of the spectators. The Doctor felt a lump in his stomach, he too felt incredibly nervous.

Making her way towards a girl in her mid teens, the tiny queen looked her up and down, deciding seconds later to move on. Approaching a girl of about 13 turns, the dragonet stared at her for what seemed like an eternity, before writing her off as well.

"Come on… come on!" N'lor could barely contain his eagerness.

Hardly taking a glance at the girl standing beside Ellira, the dragonet stumbled decisively towards the youngest Candidate. Peering up at the nervous young girl, the dragonet's consciousness filled her mind, _My name is Tanith._

Ellira shrieked in joy, "H-Her n-name is Tanith!"

The crowd went wild, and N'lor screamed, pumping his fists excitedly in the air, "I knew you could do it!" Immediately after, N'lor grabbed the Doctor and squeezed him. The Doctor looked over at the young boy awkwardly, and it seemed like an eternity went by before he was released from his grasp.

On their rocky perch, the bronze dragons' hum intensified, approving the new pair. Picking up her new weyrmate, Ellira made her way towards the ground-level exit. N'lor immediately brushed passed the Doctor to chase after her, wishing to congratulate her in person.

There was a single egg left on the sands, however the spectators began clearing out of the stone arena anyway. It had been violently twitching for quite some time now, but not so much as a crack appeared on the glistening shell.

T'kel watched the egg for a few minutes before deciding that it was clearly a dud, and stood up to leave, "We should go congratulate Ellira on her impression."

"You go, I'll catch up."

Raising a slight eyebrow, T'kel left the stands, making his way towards the Weyr Bowl.

One of the senior dragonriders was tasked with clearing out the remaining Candidates from the Hatching Grounds. One of the children spoke up, "But there's still an egg left!"

"It's a dud. "

The children let out various disappointed groans, and followed the senior rider's lead out. The Doctor's brows furrowed—that egg was most certainly not a dud. It was still shaking; a clear indicator that the egg's contents were desperately fighting for its life.

Taking a life was wrong, and leaving the poor creature in its shell was the same as condemning it to death. With haste, the Doctor ran towards the empty Hatching Grounds. The bronze dragons, aside from N'lor's Llieraneth, along with the queen had just cleared out.

Approaching the egg, the Doctor whipped out his sonic screwdriver and began running a scan. It appeared the egg shell was unusually thick, and the dragonet inside wasn't strong enough to pierce its casing.

Kneeling beside the glistening egg, he began stabbing the shell with the butt of his screwdriver. Managing to crack the thick shell, he began frantically peeling it off, shard by shard. Finally, he reached the shell membrane. He violently tore at it with his nails, desperately trying to free the creature within.

The thrusting of a pointed snout startled him. The membrane fully tore, and a tiny dragonet plopped out. Its white skin glistened in the sunlight. There were hints of various colors—green, blue, brown and bronze—in his complexion, but were only visible if the light hit it in a certain way. The dragonet was tiny, significantly smaller than even a newly hatched green.

Unfurling its wings, the Doctor noticed that he could see right through its transparent wing sails. Looking up at the Doctor with adoring blue orbs, it finally regarded him, _My name is Iryth._

Llieraneth trumpeted his approval before leaving his ledge. The Doctor stood there, staring at Iryth, joyful confusion across his visage. He then reached out to stroke the hatchling's skin. It was surprisingly smooth, and the tiny white dragonet chirped with delight.

Throughout his life, the Doctor had felt alone; as if no one in the universe understood him. In a moment, that all changed. The Doctor felt this unusual sensation of being _together _with Iryth. For the first time in a long time, the Doctor's plastered grin was genuine.

_I'm hungry…_ Iryth let out a small piteous cry.

The Doctor could feel his own stomach ache, and wondered if the two truly shared that strong of a psychic bond. Brows furrowed, the Doctor crouched down and gently picked up the tiny dragonet, its skin still wet from being inside the egg. "Let's get you something to eat."

Arriving at the Weyr Bowl, the Doctor was shot several strange glances. One of them from T'kel, and the blue rider came over to greet him.

"That's a… rather unique dragon you have there."

The Doctor laughed, "Iryth says they're hungry." Pausing for a moment, the Doctor realized that he had used a gender-neutral pronoun. What gender _was _Iryth?

_Neither._

Raising an eyebrow, the Doctor realized that the dragon had the ability to read his thoughts, or at the very least sense his feelings.

While the Doctor was busy contemplating trivial matters, T'kel had brought his tiny companion bowl of meat. "Don't let your dragon overeat."

Putting Iryth down, the dragonet immediately began devouring the decently-sized piece of meat, staining his white muzzle red. The Doctor watched as his weyrmate inhaled the meat in dangerously large chunks. "W-What are you doing! Chew!"

_Chew?_

"You know… teeth… mashing together to break your food up?"

Iryth looked up at the Doctor, eyes whirling blue in confusion. Getting on face level with his white dragonet, the Doctor opened his mouth and closed it in an exaggerated chewing motion. "You tear with your incisors," he pointed towards the front of his teeth, then opening his mouth wide, he stuck his finger towards the back, "and chew with your molars."

_I will try._ The tiny dragonet succeeded in executing the chewing method correctly, and then began polishing off his bowl. _I'm still hungry. _

The Doctor motioned at T'kel, and he brought another hunk of meat, which Iryth immediately began devouring.

"So what did you do, tear Iryth's eggshell open?"

The Doctor nodded.

"I see. Well, aside from its bizarre appearance, it seems perfectly healthy. "

Iryth crooned happily, and continued his meal. The Doctor then realized he had completely forgotten about Ellira. Looking around, he tried to find the small girl. After a few seconds of looking, a glint of gold captured his attention, and he immediately sprinted over.

"Ellira! I'm so sorry I'm late…"  
Giggling, she gave the Doctor her best smile, "It's okay~ So, you're D'tor now?"

The Doctor's eyes widened, "No, no, no, no! That's just… weird. Please," Licking his lips nervously, a small frown played across his visage, "don't ever call me that again…"

T'kel was about to walk over and scold the Doctor for leaving his dragonet when he overheard their exchange, "The Doctor doesn't have a normally-colored dragon, and as such I doubt he will be flying thread. I'm sorry, but I don't think the honorary title is fitting."

"It's fine, T'kel. I wouldn't have it any other way." Raising a slight eyebrow, he continued, "Besides… D'tor sounds… odd."

The blue rider chuckled slightly, "Oh, and Doctor. You really shouldn't be leaving your dragonet alone."

_Don't listen to him. I'm fine._

"They say—"

"It's your dragon. Of course they'd say that. Now I'm being serious—don't neglect them."

The Doctor frowned slightly at T'kel, but then took his advice and headed back towards his dragon.

_These gender-neutral pronouns are giving me a headache; may I refer to you as a male for my own sanity?_

Iryth crooned, _Of course. I'm sorry I caused you such distress._

_ Please don't apologize! It's not your fault!_

With a piteous cry, the dragonet looked towards his weyrmate, his faceted eyes whirling a distressed grey, _I'm itchy._

"T'kel! He's itchy! What do I do?" Worry played across his visage, and he looked at his poor, itchy dragonet with a sympathetic gaze.

Typically, the Doctor would have thought to scratch or oil his companion's hide, however, being newly impressed, he was far to overwhelmed to think logically. T'kel turned to face the Doctor and chuckled, "Here—use this to sooth his skin. He will need to be oiled several times a day while he grows." With a sly grin, T'kel handed a vial of oil to the Doctor, which he immediately began applying to his weyrmate's hide.

Eyes whirling a content blue, Iryth crooned happily, _You're very considerate. _

"W-What, me? No… I… well…" Face flushing a bright shade of red, the Doctor smiled at his companion, embarrassed.

_I'm sleepy…_

"Ah… let me finish oiling down your hide and then uh… I guess we… follow them?" The Doctor looked towards the crowd of children making their way across the bowl towards the Weyrling Barracks.

Ellira and gold Tanith strode past them. Flashing a charming smile, she made her way towards the Barracks, the golden dragonet dragging behind her weyrmate sleepily.

After a few minutes of rubbing down Iryth's hide, the Doctor decided it was time for them to retire. "Come along~" Grinning, he made his way towards the Weyrling Barracks, Iryth trying his best to keep up. Noticing that the tiny dragonet wasn't at his heels, he turned to his partner, waiting for him to catch up before hoisting him upon his shoulders.

_Thank you. I can't walk fast… I'm sorry._

"Don't apologize! I just forgot how tiny you are." After what seemed like an eternity, the Doctor finally made it across the Weyr Bowl, and into the barracks.

A man was scurrying about, making sure everyone was comfortable. Judging by the knot on his shoulder, he was a brown rider.

"Greetings, and who might you be?"

"I'm the Doctor," Gesturing towards his dragonet, he continued, "and this is Iryth."

The rider took a bow, "Nice to meet you. My name is L'met, and I will be assisting the weyrlings in their training."

Gesturing towards an empty stone couch, L'met led the Doctor and his dragonet towards where they would be staying. With widened eyes, the Doctor realized that he'd be staying here for a while; his TARDIS wouldn't be happy.

_I'm sure she won't mind._ Iryth crooned, trying to comfort the Doctor.

"I don't know…" Just the thought of the TARDIS making a fit made the Doctor feel ill. "You know, I'll take care of things while you're sleeping."

_Alright. I'm very sleepy… have fun._

Gently caressing the tiny white dragonet's head, he waited until his companion fell asleep. Picking himself up, he looked around for the exit. Suddenly, he heard a very familiar voice.

"Is the Doctor in here? Oh! There you are!" The young N'lor raced into the barracks, almost knocking L'met down. "There's always a great gathering after a hatching! Come!" His heterochromatic brown and green eyes lit up, and he grabbed the Doctor firmly by the arm and dragged him out of the barracks.

"Where are we going!"

"The Gather's held in the lower caverns. Come quick, I want to buy a new pair of boots before they're sold out!"

With a raised eyebrow, the Doctor spoke, "You know I could just get you a pa—" Before he was able to finish his sentence, N'lor tugged on him hard, almost causing him to fall face first into the sand. "Okay, okay, allons-y!"

The large dining hall was impressively made up. It had decorations everywhere, and what he assumed to be the Fort Weyr emblem was embroidered on a great deal of tapestries and displayed about the walls. There were hundreds of people about the long tables, and the kitchen had a dozen drudges scurrying about, hastily making their last-minute preparations.

N'lor tugged on him again, "Over here!"

"I thought we were eating!"

"No you crazy space-man, we're getting boots!" N'lor looked at the Doctor with a frown, continuing to pull him through the crowd, bumping into individuals who then looked at him displeased.

Finally, the pair arrived out in front of the Weyr. The entrance road was littered with craftsman selling their wares. "Yes!" With a big goofy grin on his face, the child dragged the Doctor along the road, finally making his way to the leather crafter's tent. "I would like a pair of boots!"

The older crafter smiled, "Oh, would you? May I have a look at one of your boots?"

Excited, N'lor tore off his old boot, and shoved it on the workbench. The Doctor flinched, "Easy there, you're going to break something…" The boy looked towards him with a slightly apologetic smile, but then looked back towards the craftsman, a cheesy grin plastered across his face.

"Let's see here…" Looking through some pre-made boots, he brought back a couple pairs in different styles and colors to show the young dragonrider. "Do any of these appeal to you?"

N'lor took his hand and placed it upon his chin, staring down the pairs of boots. "What do you think, Doctor?"

Bending over, the Time Lord carefully eyed the selection, "They're all expertly crafted." Smiling, he looked towards the elder before him, "Brilliant job!" Now he wondered which pair would be best suited for riding. With a contemplated expression upon his face, he looked them over, picking up a few pairs and examining the cut and tread. "I believe T'kel has a pair like these." He gently picked up pair of boots that went up towards the mid-calf, and presented them to the boy.

"Yeah, they look like my father's boots now that you mention it."

The crafter smiled, "Those are very popular among dragonriders—I believe they would be well-suited to your needs."

N'lor beamed, "Yeah! I think you're right. Let me try them on…" Taking the boots, he the placed them upon his feet walking around some before deciding that they were comfortable, "I'll take these please! Is there a chance I could sell my old boots…?"

Smiling, the crafter nodded, "You sure can! After selling your boots, the price comes to two marks."

N'lor whined, "Aw man, I think that's all I have… oh well." Taking the wooden currency from his small satchel, he presented them to the tannercrafter. "Thanks for the boots!" With a smile, N'lor then grasped the Doctor's hand, and pulled him back inside the Weyr.

Looking around, the Doctor was almost overwhelmed by the amount of people crowded inside the lower caverns. It wasn't as if he weren't used to such scenarios, but at the same time he had not encountered this many people since the Titanic incident. Turning towards the boy, he spoke, "Well, this is lovely and everything, but I really should get going—"

"Noooo, you can't leave meeee!" N'lor pouted.

Heaving a dejected sigh, the Doctor resigned himself, "Fine…"

Perking up, N'lor was happy that his attempts at keeping the Doctor by his side succeeded. Aliens were easy! His dragon Llieraneth, trumpeted his joy out into the Weyr Bowl.

A frown across his visage the Doctor noted, "You're far too excited about this."

A cheesy grin across his visage, N'lor then proceeded to pull the Doctor towards the kitchen.

"Soooo, Doctor… we have everything today. Pretty literally everything, anyway; at least all the stuff that's in season. Here, take a look!" N'lor grinned and gestured towards the large table that had platters of food spread across it.

"You do realize I don't know what any of this is, right?"

"Shards! You really don't know _anything_ do you? Bah! I'm too hungry to explain, I'll just get you a plate of something."

"Actually, I think I've had that with T'kel," gesturing towards the roasted wherry meat he continued, "It tasted like turkey if I recall correctly."

"…turkey? I'll take your word for it. That must be some kind of space-food." N'lor raised an eyebrow towards the Doctor, and began cutting his food. "Okay, so I'll give you some wherry… Oooh! Herdbeast Stew, yum….. Oh and a cup of Klah for both of us…. Ooo! Fresh berries…"

After creating huge plates of food for the both of them, N'lor regarded the Doctor with a wide grin, "All right! This should be good for now. We can always come back for seconds." Handing a plate to the Doctor, N'lor then scanned the tables in hopes to find one that wasn't so crowded.

"So, space-man, you need to not act so… spacey. At least pretend you know what you're doing. It's weird enough you have a white dragon; you don't need to draw attention to yourself."

"What! I can't _help_ it! You try being on a planet that shouldn't even exist!"

N'lor rolled his eyes at the Doctor's comment, "Yeah, yeah. I'm sure you've seen stranger."

The Doctor remained silent; the boy definitely had a point. Shooting him a disapproving eyebrow, he began digging away at his food.


End file.
